Dian Zhang (dian.zhang@gartner.com) is a Research Principal at Gartner in Arlington, Virginia, USA.
When it comes to compliance controls, less burden means better results. Low-burden employees exhibit 70% less noncompliance than their high-burden peers, Gartner research finds.[1]
Cutting burden can be a long-term, cross-functional endeavor for compliance leaders. Follow these two steps to get the most from your efforts.
Understand who experiences the most burden
Engineering and design, supply chain and procurement, and corporate strategy are among the most burdened functions, according to Gartner research. Additionally, managers often are overwhelmed because they need to support their teams in addition to their own compliance obligations.
It’s critical to uncover the highest-burden groups in your own organization. To do so, start by listing your company’s core business activities and the legal and compliance risks they bring. Assess and identify the activities that pose the most threat.
Then map out all employee groups involved in the top risk activities. To further whittle down your list, work within and outside the compliance department to answer the following questions:
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Who receives the most compliance training?
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Who executes work that is subject to the most regulatory scrutiny?
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Who interacts with multiple functions to accomplish their tasks?
Functions that repeatedly appear in these answers should be where you target your burden-relieving efforts.
